Model airplanes powered by nitromethane or gasoline fuels require a starter to crank the engine in order for it to start. Often the starter is a device powered by an electric motor used to rotate the crankshaft and piston of the engine to draw fuel into the engine. This rotation of the crankshaft connected to the piston pulls fuel into the engine and forces the compression of this fuel in the piston cylinder where an ignition source is located. Once the fuel ignites, the engine starts to operate on its own as an internal combustion engine and the electrical starter device is removed.
Small internal combustion engines are often used to power out door home or farm machines including but not limited snow blowers, weed whackers, lawn mowers, tractors and chain saws. A cone adapter is attached to the engine crankshaft and used to turn the engine over for starting as a by-pass or substitute for the typical pull cord found on these devices. Again, an electric motor powered starter device is particularly suited to this application because the electric motor will not impede the motion of the internal combustion engine cone adapter when the engine begins to start and run on its own.
The electrical starter is most often outfitted with an adapter into which the nose cone housing the engine propeller which is mounted on the engine crankshaft is inserted. When the electrical starter turns the nose cone, it turns the crankshaft of the engine which draws fuel into the engine and moves the piston in the piston cylinder. Once the fuel air mixture ignites, the engine catches and begins to run. At this moment, when the engine begins to run on its own power—prior to the electric starter device being removed from the nose cone—the engine crankshaft turns faster than the electric starter. The electric starter accommodates this additional speed and freely spins along with the nose cone.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a fixture for a commercially available battery operated drill/driver gun to allow it to be used to start internal combustion powered engines including but not limited to a model airplane engine. Commercially available drill/driver guns are powered by gears to produce the necessary torque for the applications for which these guns are designed. This gear drive provides the torque to turn an internal combustion engine crankshaft and piston; however, this same gear drive prohibits the engine from turning faster than the drill/driver gun at the moment the engine catches and starts to run on its own.
The present invention features a shaft attached to a cylinder which accepts a rubber or silicone insert that fits onto the nose cone of a model airplane or cone adapter of any small internal combustion engine. The shaft is attached to the cylinder by means of a one way clutch which allows the torque of the drill/driver gun to be applied to a gasoline powered engine including a model airplane engine while also allowing the engine to speed up faster than the drill/driver is spinning when the engine starts to run on its own.